1. On the basis of the doctrine contained in the
Encyclical Humanae Vitae, we intend to trace an outline of conjugal
spirituality. In the spiritual life of married couples the gifts of the Holy
Spirit are at work, especially the gift of piety, that is, the gift of respect
for what is a work of God.

This gift, together with love and chastity, helps to
identify in the sum total of married life that act in which, at least
potentially, the spousal meaning of the body is linked with the procreative
meaning. It leads to understanding, among the possible manifestations of
affection, the singular or rather the exceptional significance of that act: its
dignity and the consequent serious responsibility connected with it. Therefore,
the antithesis of conjugal spirituality is constituted, in a certain sense, by
the subjective lack of this understanding which is linked to contraceptive
practice and mentality. In addition to everything else, this does enormous harm
from the point of view of man's interior culture. The virtue of conjugal
chastity, and still more the gift of respect for what comes from God, mold the
couple's spirituality to the purpose of protecting the particular dignity of
this act, of this manifestation of affection. In it, the truth of the language
of the body can be expressed only by safeguarding the procreative potential.

Responsible fatherhood and motherhood means the spiritual
appraisal—conforming to truth—of the conjugal act in the knowledge and in the
will of both spouses. In this manifestation of affection, after considering the
interior and external circumstances, especially the biological ones, they
express their mature readiness for fatherhood and motherhood.

3. Respect for the work of God contributes to seeing that
the conjugal act does not become diminished and deprived of the interior meaning
of married life as a whole—that it does not become a habit—and that there is
expressed in it a sufficient fullness of personal and ethical content, and also
of religious content, that is, veneration for the majesty of the Creator, the
only and the ultimate depository of the source of life, and for the spousal love
of the Redeemer. All this creates and enlarges, so to speak, the interior space
for the mutual freedom of the gift in which there is fully manifested the
spousal meaning of masculinity and femininity.

The obstacle to this freedom is presented by the interior
constriction of concupiscence, directed to the other "I" as an object of
pleasure. Respect for what God creates gives freedom from this constriction. It
frees from all that reduces the other "I" to a mere object and it strengthens
the interior freedom of the gift.

4. This can happen only through a profound appreciation of
the personal dignity of both the feminine "I" and the masculine "I" in their
shared life. This spiritual appreciation is the fundamental fruit of the gift of
the Spirit, which urges the person to respect the work of God. From this
appreciation, and therefore indirectly from that gift, all the affectionate
manifestations which make up the fabric of remaining faithful to the union of
marriage derive their true spousal meaning. This union is expressed through the
conjugal act only in given circumstances. But it can and it must be manifested
continually, every day, through various affectionate manifestations which are
determined by the capacity of a disinterested emotion of the "I" in relation to
femininity and, reciprocally, in relation to masculinity.

The attitude of respect for the work of God, which the
Spirit stirs up in the couple, has an enormous significance for those
affectionate manifestations. This is because side by side with it there is the
capacity for deep satisfaction, admiration, disinterested attention to the
visible and at the same time the invisible beauty of femininity and masculinity,
and finally a deep appreciation of the disinterested gift of the other.

5. All this determines the spiritual identification of
what is male or female, of what is corporeal and at the same time personal. From
this spiritual identification there emerges the awareness of the union through
the body, in safeguarding the interior freedom of the gift. Through the
affectionate manifestations the couple help each other remain faithful to the
union. At the same time these manifestations protect in each of them that
deep-rooted peace which is in a certain sense the interior resonance of chastity
guided by the gift of respect for what God creates.

This gift involves a profound and universal attention to
the person in one's masculinity and femininity, thus creating the interior
climate suitable for personal communion. That procreation which we describe as
responsible, rightly matures only in this climate of the personal communion of
the couple.

6. The Encyclical Humanae Vitae enables us to trace an
outline of conjugal spirituality. This is the human and supernatural climate in
which—taking the "biological" order into consideration and, at the same time, on
the basis of chastity sustained by the gift of piety—is formed the interior
harmony of marriage, in respect for what the encyclical calls "the twofold
significance of the conjugal act" (HV 12). This harmony means that the couple
live together in the interior truth of the language of the body. The Encyclical
Humanae Vitae proclaims that the connection between this truth and love is
inseparable.